American withdrawal from active political partl Clpation in European affairs in the interwar period reduced the importance of her relations to Poland and other European countries to the second rank for Polish diplomacy. Since the United States took no direct role in the pressing matters of concern such as Poland's boundaries, Polish diplomats concentrated their efforts in London, Paris, and Berlin. Nevertheless, it was obvious that the United States had become the economic centre of the world and could be the political centre, if she chose, so that she could not be ignored.

Economic questions played an important role in Polish-American relations. During much of the 1920s and 1930s the Polish diplomats tried to borrow large sums from American bankers to develop and industrialize Poland. They also encouraged direct American investment, but insisted that the Polish government supervise it closely. Despite these efforts, Poland never achieved the degree of support that it required or that the Poles felt they deserved. Negotiation of a $35 million loan from Dillon, Read and Co. in 1925 and a currency stabilization loan of $50 million from a banking consortium in 1927 represented the principal achievements of the interwar regime in this area. In addition, Poles floated some municipal bond issues in America. Harriman and Co. dominated direct American investment in Poland through its zinc mines in Silesia, but Harriman bid unsuccessfully to electrify more than one quarter of Poland in exchange for concessions which the government finally judged excessive. In addition, major American oil holdings in the Galician fields placed the United States in third place among foreign countries investing in Poland, after France and Germany. Although significant for the Polish economy, American investment in Poland consisted of only a small portion of American holdings abroad and paled in comparison with American investment in Germany, Poland's chief political rival at the time.

Political questions also played a role in Polish-American relations. Polish diplomats aimed at maintaining the good will of the American government and the American public. Lacking specific political issues, Poland's diplomats established personal ties with American political, social and intellectual elites. Unfortunately, the war-time enthusiasm embodied in lgnacy Paderewski's American triumph faded and governmental circles came to see Poles as ‘politically immature, charming but naughty children [who] lacked realism and conducted business in a chaotic and shoddy fashion’, while the press portrayed Poland even more harshly.